I've always had front wheel drive cars, and never had this happen before. I've been experiencing spinouts with my 88 Cougar in winter conditions. I put weight in the trunk and fill the tank. I don't drive fast. I have trouble getting going when stopped and 2 times now I have started spinning when going down the road, with no warning. Are these cars no good in winter, or is it me? Thanks
It's not you. These cars suck in the snow. A good set of winter tires will help bigtime. A traction-lock rear plus snow tires actually makes these cars pretty good - I drove my old '87 Sport two winters in some really deep snow and only got stuck once.
BTW - to make having a RWD car worth it in the winter, find an empty parking lot and do some donuts/pirouettes/power slides. Guarantee you'll come back with a grin on your face :D
I about wrecked my '82 5.0 Mustang 1/2 doz times the first winter I had it after driving FWD Sciroccos for a few years..... There were several times I went spinning down the road.....
It took a little bit to eventually get the hang of it...
I did that today near my house. Just a few little ones to get a feel of the car in the snow. I have to say, it made me smile. I even think I have pics.
Bah I drove an 89 Crown Vic one winter with no T/L and I did fine and didn't even spin out once. I actually find it easier to get a rear wheel drive car out of a skid than a front wheel drive car. If you go into a skid with a rear wheel drive car you can use the throttle to steer the car which is something that you can't do in a front wheel drive car.
Here is how I see it:
FWD seems to be better...until it begins to slip, then it is very difficult to control
RWD slips sooner, but it is easy to bring it back under control
All I've owned in MN, IA, and now NE has been RWD. I may get there sideways, but I'll get there. So far I haven't gotton stuck this winter, but we haven't had much snow.
As said earlier, extra weight and snow tires help alot (maybe I should take my own advice and actually do this, lol)
I have bald tires... this is gonna bite.
But yeah, fwd cars are easier to drive in the snow because all the weight is in the nose. where as..... our cars are nose heavy... and light as a feather in the back.
This thread timing was perfect. I just drove home in an ice storm on 2/32 tread. It sucked but I made it. It's a good thing it was 5 am with very little traffic.
They both suck without the proper tires.
Tires make a huge difference. My old Yokohamas were almost deadly in the snow. The WORST snow driving experiences I ever had were on those tires. The Pirellis I now have are preety good and they have a W speed rating to boot.
Speaking of traction here's something interesting: http://www.offroaders.com/tech/limited-slip-lockers-differentials.htm
I used to drive my old '90 mustang 2.3 (3.73 open rear diff) every winter for 5 years, and I never wrecked and never got stuck so bad that I couldn't extricate myself (and one of the worst times happened in my own driveway). I'm sure it helped that in the hatch area of the car I had the battery, a full size spare, and 50 lbs of sand every winter, but I also always had good snow tires on it.
Since I used to drive 35 miles one-way to work, there were several times where I had to drive home and I couldn't see the road because of the snow. Also drove on some poorly (or not) cleared backroads pretty often.
Only problem I ever had was one night where I wasn't thinking, and was doing about 70 in Feb. and hit a patch of ice coming around a corner, and spun out.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll get the snow tires, but where do I find a traction - lock rear?
Thanks for the feedback. I'll get the snow tires, but where do I find the traction-lock?
If you have a 7.5", then pre 87 T/c's, some rangers and areostars. If you have an 8.8", any V8 mustang, 88 T/c's, Maybe even some trucks.
Yeah, my Ranger on 255/55-17s sucked balls this morning. :rolleyes: Literally could not make it up a local hill, no matter how I feathered the clutch and throttle. Had to turn around and go around the block instead. That's pretty bad.
I ended up taking the Vic' to school today.
i use to think it was fun to go for a joyride in my car when i had the permit and drift corners in the snow. lucky i never hit any curbs. tires i have now dont pack with snow but they dont grab it either. not bad but i really dont like driving in ice. snow i can deal with for a short distance. only got stuck once and it was on a non plowed hill (sorry i think the salted it once the night before)and it rained then sleeted then snowed so it was a nice. then dumbasses in there little G6's (there were twobehind me thought that was weird same color) pass me. hhhmmmmm. lets try and pass a car that is swinging around in the ice.
i dont know how much the TL helps cause it bogs the power to the wheels down so bad on my car. i would get snow tires but we only get snow 2-3 times a year
Check out the door jamb tag on T-birds and Cougars.
Under the axle line, if the code is M, Z, R, E, W, then the car has a traction lock rear. see here (http://"http://www.coolcats.net/tech/general/axleinfo.html")
88 Cougar XR-7s had 8.8 traction lock rears as well as some later Thunderbirds (I think)
Otherwise you will find a 7.5 rear. My '86 has a factory 7.5 traction lock rear.
Yep,
The 88 T Bird is tough to grip in the snow. Keep your gas tank full, good tires (as said) and I throw about 120 lbs of softener bagged salt in the trunk---does a lot of good. Considering how the rear end of these cars is all plastic, no surprise I guess. What is surprising is that all the weight in the giant fuel tank doesnt help much.